The law, signed earlier this year, changes how Massachusetts regulates abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy. It gives physicians broader discretion to decide whether to provide such care based on their professional judgment. Previously, state law permitted abortions after 24 weeks only in specific circumstances: when necessary to protect the patient's life or physical or mental health, or in cases involving certain serious fetal diagnoses.

Opponents mounted a referendum challenge and submitted more than 113,000 signatures — well above the roughly 50,000 required to temporarily suspend the law while the referendum process unfolds. Healey's emergency declaration, signed last Friday, prevents that suspension and puts the law into effect immediately.

In the emergency preamble, Healey defended the move, writing that the law "does not displace applicable professional standards of care, informed consent obligations, licensing requirements, or facility oversight" and that "abortions after 24 weeks will continue to be extremely rare."

Critics say they are not backing down. Sam Miele, chairman of the Compassionate Care Coalition, argued the law goes too far by removing protections for later pregnancies.

"To remove every protection for the unborn in the ninth month, even for viable babies, we thought there was no medical justification for that," Miele said.

The clash highlights the high stakes of abortion policy in Massachusetts, where supporters of the law say it trusts doctors and patients in difficult, rare circumstances, while opponents contend it weakens safeguards for late-term pregnancies. With the emergency declaration in place, the law remains active as the repeal campaign continues — a fight likely to keep abortion access at the center of state politics in the months ahead.